1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to brushes that are uniquely configured for use on arcuate surfaces. More particularly, this invention relates to a lint brush that is specially configured to effectively remove lint, dust and other debris from an arcuate duct, such as an exhaust duct of a clothes dryer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Brushes adapted for cleaning must at times be specifically configured for the type of surface or object to be cleaned. Like most types of brushes, cleaning brushes generally include some type of handle, a body, and bristles. The bristles are typically selected to provide an effective cleaning action without damaging the surface being cleaned. Furthermore, the body is often formed to be relatively rigid in order to enable an adequate level of force to be applied through the bristles when the brush is held by its handle. For this purpose, the body of a cleaning brush is often formed from a relatively rigid plastic or from multiple wires that have been twisted together in order to promote rigidity.
When the surface or object to be scrubbed is not a flat surface or not readily accessible, a standard straight cleaning brush with a rigid body will often be impractical of effectively cleaning the surface. Therefore, several variations have been suggested in the prior art to improve the cleaning ability of brushes intended for use on an arcuate surface. One such solution is to modify the shape of the brush in order to enable the brush to be used on a curved surface. For example, U.S. Pat. No. Reissue 17,249 to Jackson teaches a brush having a stiff wire core that is bent into a curved shape so as to improve contact with the sides and bottom surface of a bottle. Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 3,935,611 to Locher, which discloses a brush having a curved shape with brushes on multiple surfaces. Because of its arcuate shape, the brush taught by Locher has an improved capacity to engage surfaces that are themselves curved. Furthermore, the shape of Locher's brush can be modified in a limited manner as a result of the brush being composed of two separate parts that can be assembled together in two different configurations. In one configuration, the brush has an S-shaped body, while the brush has a single continuous arcuate shape in the second configuration.
Though the brushes taught by Locher and Jackson are adapted to clean a curved surface, their limited flexibility and bristle configurations render these brushes unsuitable for a variety of contoured surface contours. Accordingly, other forms of brushes suggested by the prior art have been directed toward being adapted to clean diverse irregular surface contours and/or access a surface that is otherwise inaccessible with a stiff brush. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,819,291 to Gunjian teaches a brush that has a flexible coil spring inserted within its body so as to enable the brush to be manipulated into a shape necessary for the brush to be fed along a sharply curved surface, such as the interior wall of a curved tube. However, the bristles employed taught by Gunjian cannot be located along the length of the coil spring, and therefore offer only a limited cleaning capability. Furthermore, the bristles are not located at the tip of the brush, such that the end of a tube cannot be effectively cleaned with the brush. Finally, the coil spring has limited resistance to deformation, and therefore prevents the bristles from being applied against a surface with any substantial force. Consequently, the brush taught by Gunjian is substantially limited to applications where only surfaces parallel with the body of the brush require scrubbing, and the scrubbing needed on these surfaces requires only minimal force.
In view of the above, it can be seen that the prior art lacks a brush that is particularly well-suited for cleaning a long arcuate passage. A notable example of such a passage is an exhaust duct of a typical household clothes dryer. The ability to clean a dryer duct is important from the standpoint of reducing the substantial fire hazard posed by the accumulation of lint and dust in the duct, which is known to be a common source of house fires. In addition, a clean exhaust duct is essential for maximizing the efficiency of the dryer. While dryer ducts are provided with a lint screen, lint, dust and other debris invariably collect along the walls of the duct and at the base of the duct, and this debris may have the potential for migrating to the heating element of the dryer. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a brush which is uniquely designed to have a superior ability to clean the arcuate surfaces and base of a dryer duct as well as similarly shaped ducts.